


Making Amends

by newbatgirl



Series: Taking Inventory [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 22:50:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3186143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newbatgirl/pseuds/newbatgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil Coulson would like to explain a few things. Off the record.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making Amends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Whyndancer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whyndancer/gifts), [LadyLaner](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLaner/gifts).



> Same universe as Taking Inventory so you should read that first if you have not done so already. This was written at the request/suggestion of readers of that fic who felt that Coulson had more to say. Of course, once I got Phil in my head, he insisted on doing more than apologizing.
> 
> Told mostly from Phil’s POV, though there’s some Darcy POV at the end to close things up.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

_New York Public Library Main Branch…Entrance…midday…._

Details are important to some people. To Phil Coulson they are everything. Seeing the details that others miss, making the connection, it’s not just his job, it’s his reason for existing. Some people, like say, Tony Stark, were built for big moments and big ideas, and that’s fine. Those people needed people like _him_ to focus on the details. That’s the way the world works. When it does.

So Phil Coulson stood next to the lion-shaped statue named “Patience” at the entrance of the New York Public Library. It’s a detail he appreciated. No one else would notice it but he stood there all the same. He’s not wearing a suit. That is important too. That _will_ be noticed.

He spotted her crossing Fifth Avenue a few minutes later. As expected. She had no trouble keeping up with the NY pedestrians around her, even though she is not a native. She’s adaptable, he knows that now. Though he probably should have noticed that in New Mexico.

She was dressed in some kind of burgundy sweater dress accented by wrist-fulls of silver bracelets and a leather messenger bag. It is by no means a provocative outfit but it can’t help but become one on her through little effort on her part. Though she is not his type, Coulson can’t help but note that she has a bit of a Jessica Rabbit thing going on.* Perhaps more than a little, but he is fairly certain that she’s too young to get that reference. And Cap is probably ‘too old’ to get it. Irony is often in the details.

With a few strides to spare, he estimated her approximate path up the stone stairs and deftly inserted himself into it. Darcy Lewis pulled up short the moment she spotted him, then pushed her sunglasses up and scanned him from head to toe. Perhaps making sure it is a actually him.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, you again? And what’s with the getup? I didn’t think that suit actually came off. You guys get casual days?” Darcy asked from two steps below him. The last time he saw her, she had buttoned herself into a suit and tied up her hair, perhaps trying to comply with the same narrow SHIELD dress code she just alluded to. Today her hair was down and blew in a dark curtain behind her in the windy corridor of Fifth Avenue.

“I am here unofficially, Ms. Lewis. We have some things to talk about.”

She pushed her sunglasses into her hair. The sunglasses are a recent addition to her public wardrobe. A deliberate one. They are similar to ones Steve wears in public.

"We talked enough last time.” She paused and sized up his position on the step. “You were waiting for me, not following me. How did you know I would be here?”

Good catch. “There’s always a way to predict what someone is going to do or where there are going to be. Including something as mundane as when their library books are due.” Coulson nodded to the large volumes in her hands. He already knew that one was a photography book on 20th century architecture in New York City while the other was an ethnography of Brooklyn neighborhoods in the 1950s. No real mystery as to whom the books had been meant for.

"If you’re trying to convince me you’re not as creepy as I thought, this is a spectacular failure. Nice work, Agent.” Darcy finished climbing the stairs and brushed past him into the building. He followed.

“Finding information is my job. It’s not easy to turn off. I wanted to have a private conversation with you. Off the record. That’s impossible to do where you live and where I work.”

“I can’t figure why. I didn’t talk to your silly psychologist. Why would I talk to you? Besides, if there’s something you want to know about me, you can probably find it out for yourself. You don’t need to ambush me at the public library.”

She stopped in front of the book return slots and dropped her texts in, one by one. It was still early, the library was still rather quiet. The heavy texts hitting the bin made thudding sounds that echoed through the marble-floored hall.

“You don’t have to talk. Just listen.”

“Ummmm, how about no?”

"Ms. Lewis…I’m trying to make amends here,” Coulson said sincerely.

Darcy’s eyes narrowed “Still not seeing what’s in it for me.”

"Since when do you only care about yourself? Don’t assume that what I have to say only concerns you.”

Darcy sighed and looked around the hall. “Here?” Coulson led her down the corridor to the Map Room which, while a striking room, was almost completely deserted at this time of day.

She paused for a minute to take in the ornate ceiling and doorways before turning back to him. “OK, you’ve got five, Agent.”

Coulson readied himself before speaking. She would not make this easy. “I am not speaking for SHIELD now but…I am willing to concede that we may have reacted poorly to this situation. By bringing you in like that. And, for that, I would like to apologize.”

Darcy made a T-shape with her palms. “Time out. Word foul. New Mexico was a _situation_. London was a bigger situation. Steve wanting an actual personal life beyond being treated like a government-owned Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot in spandex is not a situation. It’s just reality.”

“Miss Lewis, are we really going to argue word choice?

“You wanted to talk to me. Do better with the words. Four minutes.”

Coulson sighed. And regrouped. “You spend your days among scientists, let’s try it this way. At its heart, the Avengers Initiative is about solving problems. For that to happen, we…need to be aware of all the variables. Your relationships are variables we had not considered.”

"OK, not sure why you thought calling me a ‘variable’ was better than calling me a ‘situation’ but… Hang on, ‘relationships.’ As in more than one?” She looked around them quickly and leaned closer, her voice a harsh whisper. “Just how many of them do you think I am sleeping with? Because _seriously_ , dude…”

“I meant _friendships_ , Miss Lewis. In a very short period of time, you’ve built close friendships with most of the members of the team. As much as that is _personal_ to you, it is something that changes the equations.”

“How?”

“Risk. Loyalty. Priorities. Not just any single way. Different for each person. Multiple equations. Multiple variables.”

Darcy frowned at him. “I didn’t like calculus much.”

"You managed a B on the final.” Coulson replied lightly, trying to be reassuring, but he did admit to himself that it was also fun to tease her.

“You don’t seem to be trying all that hard to turn off this creepy thing.”

“Once again, apologies. Though, in my defense, we’ve had your grades since New Mexico. That’s hardly new information.”

The look she sent him was so dark, Coulson could almost see why Dr. Goodman had requested a third week’s vacation. Almost.

“So you came here to make a sort of apology, which I still haven’t decided if I’m accepting…and I’m not clear why you did it here and like this.” She looked him up and down again and added dryly, “Unless you had a burning desire to show me how you rock a pair of Dockers instead of the suit.”

"I need you to pass along a message. To them.”

“If you’re giving it to me here…in your Dockers, it must be a special kind of message.” Yes, she understood. She joked around about not being smart but nothing could be further from the truth. “You trust me with that kind of message?”

“I don’t really have a choice.” And that was the absolute truth, above everything else.

“What’s the message?”

Coulson hesitated. There was no going back after this.

“Coulson---?”

“Be ready,” he said finally, almost in relief when the words came out.

"Be ready? For what? It’s their job to be ready for anything. What more do you want them to do?”

“They’re not ready for this. If it happens, it won’t be about what I want them to do.”

“Why not? What are you saying?”

“That’s it. That’s the message, Miss Lewis. That’s all I can give you.”

Darcy let out a huff. “You’re even more annoying when you’re cryptic. I didn’t think it was possible but there it is.” 

"Now I can make no apologies for that. Have a good afternoon, Miss Lewis.” He started to walk away, then turned back, looking up at the ornate ceiling of the Map Room. “It’s a beautiful room, don’t you think? Maybe you should take a moment before you leave to appreciate the details.”

When Coulson left the library a few moments later, he paused briefly in front of the stone lion called “Fortitude.”

They would all be needing more of that.

******

_Stark Tower…common area lounge…later that evening…_

"…And then he left.” Darcy finished explaining to the Avengers. When she had gotten back to the Tower, she’d recounted her meeting with Coulson at the library to Steve. He had immediately asked JARVIS to issue an Assemble order so she could share it with the others.

"How’d he leave?" Clint wanted to know.

“Out the main entrance, same as we went in. By the lions.”

Clint nodded, seeming to file that information away.

Thor looked up. “Your city’s place of books also houses lions?”

"They’re statues, carved to look like lions. There are two of them by the main entrance,” Darcy explained as quickly as she could. She didn’t want them to lose focus.

Steve, who was seated at her side, reached over to rub her knee. “Thanks, Darcy.” She reached down and tangled her fingers with his, grateful for the contact. Her meeting with Coulson had unnerved her more than she cared to let on to the others.

“So…what do you all think? What was he trying to tell us?” Steve asked, turning back to the rest of the group.

After no one spoke for moment, Tony threw up his hands. “Hell if I know, Little Timmy fell down a well? I don’t get the need for this cloak and dagger bullshit. If he and Fury were up to something, my bugs would have caught it. Right?”

The question he added at the end revealed an uncharacteristic lack of confidence.

“Maybe he knows you’re watching him.” Bruce offered. “Or he’s concerned that someone else is. That would explain meeting Darcy at a neutral site. Not here or at SHIELD.”

“Bruce is right,” agreed Natasha. “This is out of character for Coulson. Something has him spooked, inasmuch as he can get spooked about anything. It takes a lot to get him out of the suit…”

Clint snorted from his perch on the back of one of the sofas.

“Grow up,” Nat growled at him. “And all his talk about going ‘off the record’… He is clearly trying to fly under the radar.”

Tony nodded, considering this. “Good point. And he went to Lewis, who most people at SHIELD don't even know. No offense, kiddo.” He added, turning back to Darcy.

“Yeeesh, none taken. I don’t want any more of them to know who I am. You’re a walking and talking daily reminder of why I want my public profile to stay low for as long as it can.”

Tony shot her a look. “Well, I’m flattered, Lab Rat. If I can’t be a good example, it’s good to know that I am, in fact, a horrible warning. Anyone else have any thoughts?”

Thor tapped the fingers of one enormous hand on the coffee table. “Sister, Agent Coulson said something to you in parting. About the beauty of the room? Perhaps he was alluding to something we need to know?”

“Yeah, I thought of that, big guy. I spent about an hour in there after he left trying to figure out if he was making some hint about the architecture or the furniture. Nothing stood out to me but I’m no Sherlock. And there are over 400,000 maps in that collection so if he was referring to a clue in one of them, it would take us forever to find it.”

Bruce pulled out a tablet and started typing.

“No, I doubt it would be in the maps,” Steve mused, gently squeezing her hand. “From everything you said, Coulson seemed pretty knotted up about this. Why give you this message now if we have to spend the next few months combing through maps? It’s got to be more obvious than that.”

"Something more obvious,” Nat echoed. “That he doesn’t want SHIELD to know he shared with us. And that we need to be prepared for.”

Bruce sat up straighter in his seat, holding his tablet. “Uh….something more obvious about the Map Room? There’s this on the website. First fact they list about the room: ‘During World War II, Allied military intelligence used the Map Division to research and prepare battle plans...’ If he’s trying to tell us something, that would be the place to start.”

All of the eyes in the room swung around to look at Steve. His face just fell, and Darcy’s heart lurched in her chest at his reaction.

"Shit,” He said, rubbing his forehead with his palm. “I have a real bad feeling about this.”

End.

**Author's Note:**

> So…this was me trying to bridge the gap between my universe and the events of CA:TWS, which in my universe have not taken place yet. Did it work? Tell me in the comments. 
> 
> *For those who are too young to get Coulson’s reference about Jessica Rabbit, it is a reference to the animated character from the movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” who is sinfully curvaceous but infamously “not bad…just drawn that way.” 
> 
> Learn about the Stephen A. Schwartzman Building (Main Branch) of the New York Public Library, including the lions, the map room and the general awesomeness of it, here: http://www.nypl.org/about/locations/schwarzman


End file.
